Alma College women's basketball falters late in home loss to Defiance College

Alma College Freshman Tara Padgett (23) takes a close range shot while surrounded by Defiance players at Alma Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2013. Defiance went on to win the game 78-65. (Sun photo by KEN KADWELL/@KenKadwell).

Alma College Freshman Erica Hansen (34) gets ready to take a shot while being closely guarded by Defiance's Hannah Harshman (42) at Alma Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2013. Defiance went on to win the game 78-65. (Sun photo by KEN KADWELL/@KenKadwell).

When facing a team with far more interior size, being technically sound is crucial.

The Alma College women’s basketball did not execute efficiently enough Wednesday evening in its home opener at Art Smith Arena as all those little things that help win games such as boxing out and defending the paint were absent at key junctures.

It all led to a 78-65 loss as the Scots faltered down the stretch during a contest in which they led by as many as five points in the second half.

“We were not boxing out the way we should,” said Alma College fifth-year coach Keisha Brown. “We gave up too many rebounds because we weren’t boxing out and they took advantage. Defiance basically had its way in the paint.”

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The Scots (0-3) were out-rebounded by a 44-34 margin and had a particularly dificult time matching up with Yellow Jackets 6-foot-3 center Kelsey Tietje, who torched the hosts for 24 points and 11 rebounds. Tietje shot 9-of-14 from the floor and 6-of-10 from the free throw line, while she also blocked a pair of shots.

Tietje matched up much of the night with Alma College 5-9 freshman Erica Hansen, who did a formidable job on the offensive end as she scored eight points but it was a struggle to guard Tietje one-on-one defensively.

Hansen is part of an influx of youth on the Scots’ roster as there are only three juniors (Mallory Pruett, Cora Essenmacher, and Morgan Henry), while the rest of the roster is entirely sophomores and freshmen. There are no seniors on the roster.

“We are young, but that’s no excuse,” said Brown.

There were plenty of positives to draw from for Alma College over the course of the game as it remained tied 30-30 going into halftime, then had several spurts in the second half where it appeared it might take full control.

The biggest lead for Alma College in the second half came with 12 minutes left as two of the juniors made big plays. Henry nailed a 3-pointer, followed by a rebound and putback from Pruett which put the Scots ahead by a 52-47 score.

Defiance (1-0) followed with a 12-0 run to grab a 59-52 advantage and never relinquished its lead.

Alma College managed to cut the deficit to 64-61 with 5:37 left on a Hansen layup, yet Tietje took the game over in the ensuing few minutes.

Tietje scored nine of her 24 points the rest of the way as the Yellow Jackets opened up a double-digit lead and put away the Scots.

“This is the most talented team I’ve had in my five years here. We are getting close,” Brown added. “We don’t just have a couple of scorers this year. We have nice balance and a lot of girls capable of scoring in double figures. There is still a learning curve, but this team is progressing very nicely. They’ll be disappointed about this loss, but they’ll learn from it and bounce back.”

Pruett paced Alma College with 17 points, five rebounds, and two steals. Sophomore guard Kassidi also scored 17 to go with seven rebounds, five assists, and four steals. Freshman guard Tara Padgett chipped in with 10 points.

The Scots will play again at home Friday at 6 p.m. as they host Lakeland College.

About the Author

Nate Schneider is a sports writer at the Morning Sun. He covers CMU football, men's basketball and baseball. Nate enjoys craft beer and vegetarianism. He struggles with his daily fashion sense. Reach the author at nschneider@michigannewspapers.com
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